After missing out on victory by just 0.308 seconds in NLS8, Falken Motorsports struck back in the second race of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie’s double-header weekend as it headed home a Porsche podium sweep in the 66th ADAC ACAS Cup.
Tim Heinemann and Morris Schuring were rarely headed throughout the four-hour race, as the pair won from pole position aboard their Schanbl Engineering-run #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2)
Heinemann topped qualifying with a 7:51.957, ending up 0.023 seconds ahead of the #48 48 LOSCH Motorsport by Black Falcon Porsche of Tobias Müller, with only 0.460 seconds covering the top four qualifiers.
The start of the race saw immediate action in the AMG Arena, as yesterday’s winner, the #77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Ugo de Wilde, attempted to overtake third-place starter Nico Menzel’s #17 Dunlop Motorsport Porsche on the inside. Contact was made, with de Wilde then dropping back down the order after contact with the #5 Black Falcon Team EAE Porsche of Daan Arrow.
On lap eight, the #77 BMW’s day came to an abrupt end after a crash at Brünnchen, but the German outfit still leads the NLS Speed Trophy by 38 points with only one race to go.
Schubert, at least, had fared better than the #47 KCMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, which was forced to withdraw after an accident in qualifying caused by oil on track.
In the third hour of the race, rain started in the Eifel region, and a nerve-wracking strategy roulette ensued as drivers chose between slicks and rain tires.
The #48 Porsche survived a pair of scares. First, Müller missed a Code 60 sign and ran into the back of Thomas Schönfeld’s VW Golf GTI, resulting in a bent rim and a subsequent drive-through penalty. Shortly afterward he spun on the wet track in the ultra-fast “Mut-Kurve” – and miraculously recovered without touching the track limits.
Meanwhile, a sibling rivalry unfolded at the front: Morris Schuring led the field at times ahead of his younger brother Flynt, who was sharing the #17 Porsche with Menzel.
In the pit lane, father Gerwin Schuring – himself a former overall winner at the Nürburgring – proudly watched his sons’ one-two finish, as in the final laps the track transformed into a lake. Breidscheid, Fuchsröhre, and Schwedenkreuz became a slippery mess.
After four hours of racing, the #44 Porsche finished 43.813 seconds ahead of the sister Schnabl-run #17 911 GT3 R (992.2), for the Falken car’s first victory of the season.
The #48 Porsche of Müller, Patrick Assenheimer and Dylan Pereira finished third, winning SP9 Pro-Am and with it sealing the SP9 Pro-Am title.
Fourth went to the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, ahead of the #23 Gamota Racing BMW and #64 HRT Ford Racing Mustang GT3 Evo.
The #22 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II was seventh, with the SP9 Am-winning #5 Porsche, #54 Dinamic GT Porsche and the best-placed non-GT3 car, the #901 SRS Team Sorg Rennsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992.1), completing the top 10.
The race also unfolded with great drama in mind regarding the overall NLS standings. The hitherto unchallenged Adrenalin Trio of Edoardo Bugane, Yannick Fübrich, and Sven Markert had to retire their BMW M240i prematurely due to a technical defect and be towed away – marking the first time this year that the championship leaders had scored no points.
Their pursuers seized the opportunity: Alexander Fielenbach and Oskar Sandberg, driving a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, missed out on the CUP3 class victory to Moritz Oberheim and Lorenz Stegmann, but their second-place finish earned them valuable points. This brings Fielenbach/Sandberg to within four points of the championship leaders.
The 2026 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie now moves onto its season finale, the 2nd NLS Sportwarte-Trophy, on 10th October 2026.
Image courtesy of Porsche Motorsport
